Concurrent Engineering : Shortening Lead Times, Raising Quality, and Lowering Costs

By simultaneously examining the concerns of design, production, purchasing, finance, and marketing from the very first stages of product planning, concurrent engineering makes doing it right the first time the rule instead of the exception. This should be the first book managers read when they are ready to eliminate waste in the product development process.An introductory handbook, it gives managers 16 clear guidelines for achieving concurrent engineering and contains abundant case studies of Japanese, U.S., and European company success stories. The book also: Defines the concurrent engineering task force as a full-time, multidisciplinary unit of operation. Discusses the necessary interdependence of concurrent engineering, Quality Function Deployment, Total Quality Control, and CAD/CAM. Shows how concurrent engineering can be structured to fit your company and used to gain flexibility and efficiency.